Thoughts, comments, news, and reflections about healthcare IT from Microsoft's worldwide health senior director Bill Crounse, MD, on how information technology can improve healthcare delivery and services around the world.

Microsoft Health Tech Today—New Program December 10th

Microsoft Health Tech Today—New Program December 10th

I want to draw your attention to the next episode of Microsoft Health Tech Today. The second show in our monthly series will premier December 10th.

This time around, we catch up with my friend and colleague Dr. Jay Parkinson. Jay and I are a full generation apart in age, but we are cut from the same cloth when it comes to our enthusiasm for how software and information technology will transform health and healthcare delivery. Like most young physicians setting up practice today, Jay grew up with technology. Everywhere he looked, he saw opportunities to use that technology in new and innovative ways. It started with his own practice and soon morphed into a new kind of business and delivery model called Hello Health. He describes it as the EMR meeting Facebook.

Our second guest is the CIO of New York Presbyterian Hospital, Aurelia Boyer. Not only does NYP enjoy the advantage of having the famous Dr. Oz on its staff (where he does patient care when not on TV) but they have also teamed up with Microsoft HealthVault and Microsoft Amalga to deploy a new kind of patient portal that is facilitating care team communication and collaboration, improving care quality and safety, and delighting patients.

Also on the program is Dr. Sayave Gnoumou, Founder and CEO of Nazounki Global Medical Network. Nazounki is an international network of doctors who share information about their patients in order to help each other provide better treatments and better services. They are very active in Africa working to bring western medical advancements to patients who would otherwise not have access to those treatments. Their primary challenge was that in many African countries telephone lines are expensive and unreliable, internet access is sporadic, and bandwidth is often too low to send large image files such as X-rays, CT scans, and MRI results. The doctors often found themselves waiting for days to receive information via long distance courier services. But now Nazounki has been able to overcome many of these obstacles. By using Windows Mobile® and Waves image compression software they are able to exchange information and images via cell phone, and provide real time solutions to patients for whom every moment counts.

Finally, due to popular demand we bring back my interview with the 31 year-old founder of Remote Medical International as he explains why his company and the services it provides are growing, year over year, by several hundred percent. And why technology is playing a huge role in that success.

If you would like to view the show trailer for our December 10th edition of Health Tech Today, click on the player below.